A Mission Failed in Record Time
by roisaber
Summary: Homura has a new strategy for keeping Madoka out of Kyubey's clutches - just don't get involved with the girl at all. Don't look at her, don't talk to her, don't even think about her. But will that really work? Homura tries to take her mind off of things by going to a party with new friends, and then everything falls apart.


Homura picked up her diary with an exasperated sigh. She flipped to the middle of the book and reread the latest entry.

_Cycle 5, Day 2._

_ Nothing I do matters. Nothing I do ever changes anything. Regardless of what I try, Madoka is always approached by Kyubey. Madoka always assents to becoming a magical girl. I don't know what to do anymore. This is the fifth time I've tried to save her, and I fear this is the fifth time I will fail. Did I die and go to Hell?_

Homura felt hot tears drip down her cheek, though she kept herself from openly sobbing. Suddenly, she noticed Kyubey sitting in a corner, wordlessly watching her.

"What do you want, demon?" she hissed.

Kyubey was as unphased as ever. "You're going to school to meet Madoka tomorrow, aren't you? It's important, so don't forget!"

Homura had a flash of inspiration.

"If I don't interact with Madoka at all, what will happen? Will she still – will she become a magical girl like me?"

Kyubey didn't answer her for a minute. She grew impatient, and hurled her diary at the diminutive imp. He dodged the missile, slinked into a shadow, and disappeared. Homura cursed him under her breath.

_Still_, she admitted to herself. _I've never considered my influence, before. What does Kyubey want with her, anyway - is he just using her to strike at me? Maybe if I don't look at her, don't talk to her, don't even _think _about her… she won't get dragged into Kyubey's trap._

Out loud, she announced, "Maybe I _will_ go to school tomorrow."

The next morning, Homura headed to school on the city bus without even consulting her phone for directions. Though she'd only lived in any particular timeline for a month at most, it had now been nearly half a year since she'd started attending Mitakihara Middle School. Homura presented herself to the principal, brusquely brushed aside his greeting, and made her way to the now-familiar classroom.

"Come in, transfer student. Class, this is Akemi Homura. She's just come out of the hospital so please be kind to her!"

Homura quickly bowed, and then carefully reevaluated her demeanor. If she was going to avoid the other Mahou Shoujo entirely, maybe it would be a good idea to try to befriend some of the other students instead of pushing them away. She raised herself to her full – and rather short – height in an unassuming way. Just like every other iteration, the teacher struggled with the spelling of her name. She corrected the kana and bowed graciously. The teacher looked sheepish.

"Don't worry about it," Homura said.

"Go ahead and take your seat."

Homura sat down and paid little attention while the teacher droned about her boyfriend troubles. After all these months she could do the coursework twice over, and then some. She could anticipate every pop quiz and ace every exam. Since she had so much free time in the classroom, and the teacher was far too self-absorbed to catch her reading, she reopened Goethe's Faust to the last page she'd read. The little machine was confused by Homura's insistence she was really on page 134, but it eventually assented. She read for what seemed like hours.

"Excuse me."

Homura looked up, startled. She was shocked to discover that the period had already come to an end – leaving her free for the rest of the day, since she eschewed all extracurricular activities, naturally.

"Homura, right? That's such a unique name. Oh – I apologize! I'm Yuki!"

A friend standing next to her said, "And I'm Kaoru."

"My name is Aderu," said a cute-looking foreign girl with blonde hair.

"Good afternoon," Homura answered guardedly.

The three girls examined her closely. They still didn't know what to make of the short girl with long, raven-black hair. Was she a geek? Was she a jock? Was she a partier or a worrier or a narc? There was only one way to find out. After all, being the first people to get to know the transfer student would be a huge social coup, and would provide gossip fodder for months.

Yuki, the apparent leader, spoke next. "We were wondering if you were interested in grabbing some dinner with us? We want to make you feel welcome at Mitakihara~!"

Homura almost reflexively said no, and then reflected on her recent change in strategy. Maybe it _would_ be nice to socialize with normal girls, and not with companions who bore the heavy curse of Kyubey. But it would be putting them in danger… Homura vacillated, unsure of what to decide. Yuki and the other two watched her intently.

Homura surprised herself with a sudden decision. "Okay!"

"What kind of food do you like?" asked Aderu. She had a strange accent, and while she was clearly fluent in Japanese, her blonde hair would always mark her out as a foreigner. Homura found herself wondering how the girl had landed in the popular crowd.

Homura searched for something safe. "How about some ramen?"

Kaoru laughed. "You can't go wrong with a hearty bowl of ramen! Let's go to Ramen Tetsuya."

Homura nodded. The four girls made their way down to the first floor, the three friends tittering and sharing gossip about people Homura didn't know. They did try to make her feel included, and she met them halfway with a few contributions about her home in Tokyo, her upbringing at the orphanage, and her time at the hospital. They soaked up her words, every detail fodder for later gossip, once they decided whether or not she was cool enough to hang out with them. Homura kept her senses peeled during the short bus ride to Ramen Tetsuya, on the lookout for Witches or their awful Familiars.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" Yuki asked innocently.

"No."

Kaoru put in, "Have you ever had a boyfriend?"

"No."

There was a collective gasp from the other three, and Homura felt defensive.

"I was in the hospital for a long time," she admitted. "And I always had so much work to catch up on while I was sick. I guess I just… never really had time."

"You poor thing!" Aderu said.

"It must not have been easy," Kaoru added sympathetically.

Homura's answer was quiet. "It's okay. I'm happy."

"And we're happy to have a friend like you," Yuki said.

Homura was still trying to sort out all of the social statuses and entanglements, but it almost sounded to her like she'd been accepted. She bit her lower lip and tried not to cry.

"Is something wrong?" Aderu asked.

"No. It's nothing. My chest just hurts a little."

"Do you need to go to the doctor?" Yuki inquired with evident concern.

"No. I'm okay."

It was still early, but Ramen Tetsuya was hopping. Cheap, filling, and tasty, it was a popular hangout for kids after school. Homura ordered a beef bowl and it came out steaming and loaded with vegetables. The other girls got their orders, and the four of them grabbed a table near the door and traded playful insults. Homura smiled appropriately and concentrated on her food – it actually was really good.

"What's your blood type?" Aderu asked her.

"O negative."

"Ooh," Kaoru said with a laugh. "The serious type."

"I work hard," Homura admitted.

Though the girls were the cool crowd, they weren't cruel. They pointed out a few other Mitakihara students and gave Homura a quick but generous biography. Naturally, Homura knew many of them from other timelines, but she nodded and smiled and gasped when it was socially appropriate.

"And that's Madoka," Yuki said.

Homura stifled a cough. She hadn't guessed that Madoka would show up at Ramen Tetsuya after school.

Aderu asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing!"

"I think she saw us," Kaoru said. "She's coming over here!"

Homura quietly fumed.

"Hey," Madoka said with an easy smile.

"Good afternoon, Madoka," Yuki said, taking the lead.

"I just wanted to say hi to the transfer student – I mean, Akemi Homura. I hope you feel welcome in our town!"

Homura slid down in the chair, silently cursing the girl's friendly generosity. The goal for this time loop had been to avoid all contact with Madoka entirely, and she'd blown it in the space of ten hours.

"Sheesh, say hello," Yuki instructed in a motherly tone.

"Hi," Homura whispered.

Madoka looked put off. "Well, please have a wonderful day!"

And with that, she mercifully left. The other three girls regarded Homura curiously.

"What was that all about?" Aderu asked.

"It seems like you don't like her. Is there something between you two?" Kaoru put in.

"It's…" Homura searched for a plausible excuse. "I think she might be dangerous."

The other three girls looked at one another for a pregnant moment, and then broke into peals of laughter.

"Madoka?"

"Dangerous?

"You're a laugh a minute, Homura."

Yuki was the first to regain her composure, and she asked, "What do you like to do after school?"

"I've never really thought about it before," Homura admitted quietly.

"Right, because you were in the hospital so long. Well, you haven't had a boyfriend, but do you like drinking?"

"Drinking? You mean alcohol?"

The three popular girls looked at one another.

Homura felt self-conscious. "I guess I've never really had a chance to try it."

"Well, we know a guy who's having a party tonight. But we understand if your health isn't up to it…" Yuki offered.

Homura wanted to say no. She was desperate to say no. Every instinct in her body said to say no. She had a perfect, socially acceptable excuse to say no.

"I'd love to go," Homura whispered.

"That's the spirit!" Aderu said. "My big sister would be happy to drive us. She says it's safer than riding around with some drunk senpai!"

Homura finally said, "That would be… nice."  
"Well, I'm going to go home and change," Aderu said. "Why don't you text me your address and I'll pick you up at twenty three hundred?"

Fleetingly, Homura thought about the Witches she should be hunting down. But now she'd already committed and besides… the truth was… it would be the first house party she'd ever been to. As far as she could tell, there were always Witches. But this was one opportunity she'd never had before. She got Aderu's number and quickly mashed her address into the keypad on the ride back to her apartment. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so upbeat.

Back home, Homura showered, shaved, and regarded her empty refrigerator and cabinets. She hadn't had time to go shopping yet since jumping into this timeline, and the apartment was pristine to the point of sterility. She quickly loaded her favorite programs into the home's visualizers, bringing up the gears and clocks that she felt best expressed her personality. Still, even with all the advanced holograms playing on the walls, she felt incredibly lonely. She quickly dressed in her finest street clothes, thankful that she had bought a black dress on a whim on one of her few early forays out of the hospital. She turned on the television, turned off the television, and waited.

Twenty three hundred hours came and went. Homura felt an iron stone of despair settling in her stomach – apparently, she wasn't cool enough for the party after all. When her door chimed at twenty three twenty, Homura could feel a flood of relief overflow right down into her fingertips. She really could make friends. The three girls were waiting, and peered curiously in her apartment when she opened the door.

"Heyyyyy! Cool apartment," Yuki said.

"You live alone?" Aderu asked, mildly scandalized.

Homura nodded. "My parents… left me enough to get by when they died."

Yuki hugged her. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. It's been a long time."

Homura locked the door behind her, and the four hurried downstairs. They piled into Aderu's sister's sedan.

"Hey, I'm Tifani," announced an older blonde girl sitting in the driver's seat. "It's good to meet you, Homura-chan."

Homura played the foreign name with her tongue, and then blushed. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. Thank you for driving us."

Tifani only laughed. "My parents pay me five thousand yen every time I keep my little sister from getting into the car with some drunk boy. I'm the one who should be thanking you."

The party was a twenty minute drive, and Tifani let them out in front of an upper-middle class house in a fashionable suburb. The girls piled out of the car and thanked Tifani for the ride.  
"Don't worry about it, sis~! Anyway, I'm going to pick up my boyfriend and hit up the movies. Just give me a call when you want a ride home."

She blew them a kiss and sped off, nearly burning rubber as she peeled out into the sultry evening.

"Your sister is amazing," Yuki enthused.

"I know, totally, right?"

The girls made their way to the front door and entered without knocking. Homura shyly followed them inside, and was greeted with a sight that almost reminded her of a Witch's barrier. There was loud techno music pulsing from an expensive hi-fi system in the middle of the common area. A kaleidoscope of gaudy lights danced on the ceiling, projected outward by a globe set on the coffee table. Though it was early, there were still quite a few boys and girls, high schoolers mostly, dancing and drinking out of red plastic cups. The host of the party, Yuta, rushed forward to greet them.

"Thanks for coming Yuki, Aderu, Kaoru," he gushed. "Oh, you brought a lovely friend."

Homura was struck dumb by the compliment, and Yuki answered for her. "This is our new transfer student Homura."

"It's great to meet you!" He pumped her hand furiously, Western-style. "Please enjoy my party!"

"He's cute," Homura whispered in Yuki's ear as soon as he was out of earshot.

"Alas, he's also taken. Let's go get a drink."

Yuta had somehow acquired a keg for the party, the girls poured themselves full glasses of Sapporo beer. Homura took a long sip and was very surprised by the taste; she'd never had anything like it before. It was carbonated like soda, but it had a strange wheaty fullness that reminded her faintly of bread. She was surprised to discover that while the alcohol in the beverage was noticeable, it wasn't nearly as potent as she had anticipated. She took another hurried gulp before she could lose her nerve.

"Heyyy!" Aderu said. "Look who's getting into the spirit after all."

Minutes ticked by. Homura finished her beer and poured herself another. Then she repeated the process. She felt good; the alcohol gave her a warm, fluffy feeling that reminded her of being wrapped in her favorite blanket. She threw caution to the wind and danced with Yuki, and then allowed herself to be taken aside by a boy whose name she immediately forgot. In rapid succession, she had her first shot of whiskey, her first cigarette, and her first kiss. The music blared on and on at stomach churning decibels.

Then the sky fell.

Homura could feel it – a Witch, and one nearby as well. She shivered from head to toe, and Yuki materialized next to her with concern.

"What's wrong?" Yuki asked.

Homura searched for an excuse.

"I'm feeling sick," she slurred.

"I believe it. I've never seen a first-timer drink so much at once. Can I help you outside?"

Homura nodded vigorously, and immediately regretted it; she almost threw up on her shoes. She felt terrible putting Yuki into any kind of danger, but she was literally not certain she could make it outside on her own. The other girl carefully led her outside by the arm, and Homura vomited copiously into the bushes. Her ears burned with humiliation.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she said, trying to hold back tears.

"Don't worry about it, Homura-chan. It's hard to know what's too much your first time. Nobody will judge you."

"I have to go!"

"What?" Yuki looked worried. "I'll get you some water. That and the warm night air will get you sobered up before you know it."

Homura heard the distant tinkling of bells, and knew she didn't have time to wait. Every minute she dallied was another minute for the Witch to slaughter.

"No! I have to go now. I'll get a taxi – please don't worry about me!"

Yuki eyed her dubiously. "You have money, right?"

Homura nodded.

Yuki gave her a quick hug, careful to avoid the place where Homura's dress was still wet with vomit.

"Don't worry, I'll cover for you," Yuki promised. "I'll see you at school on Monday, okay?"

Homura nodded and stumbled away from the party as fast as she could. She carefully extracted her soul gem and used it to home in on the Witch's location. She was in no shape to fight, and she knew it – but even if she ran away, the Witch might simply ambush her instead. The only chance was to meet it head on, and try to get it over with. Homura took out her buckler and put time to a stop. Every minute she could gain on the demonic creature was another minute it wasn't murdering. Sobbing and barely able to hold herself upright, Homura allowed her soul gem to guide her into the Witch's barrier.

She was surprised to discover that drunk, the experience wasn't nearly as disorienting. She ignored the cutting scissors and the thorny vines, pushing on to the center where she knew the demon lay in wait. Laughing faces hung in the foul mist, mocking her, but she paid them no heed. On, on, on and into the belly of the beast. Homura tripped, fell, and picked herself back up, cursing her choice to go to the party with Yuki. Heedlessly, she burst through the door into the reeking eye of the storm.

Gertrud was waiting for her.

Before Homura could react, a thorny vine burst out of the grand foyer of the illusion and whipped her across the chest. Homura raised her arm just in time to protect her face, but the stinging nettles dug into her arm, cutting deep, bloody wounds into her pale skin. Homura screamed and stifled herself, and managed to avoid the next whipping vine only by falling over. Blood dripped freely down her arm, and she fumbled with her buckler and dropped it.

"Shit!" Homura shouted, heedless of Gertrud's laughter.

Homura drew her machine pistol and fired wildly at the body of the Witch, but none of the bullets even slowed the demon down. Faster than she could react, faster than she could ever believe another vine leapt out and threaded itself between her legs, and brought her crashing to the ground. Homura shot at the vine with her pistol, but it was too narrow, and everything was moving too fast for her to get a bead on it. With growing horror, Homura realized she was about to die. Gertrud flung her up into the air, while Homura desperately fumbled with the catch that would release her gun's spent magazine, but it was too late. Another vine caught her. And then another. Her arms were drawn above her head and she was slowly _pulled_ away from the center, as if Gertrud meant to tear her in half. The snapping of scissors that she had ignored until that moment now filled her with utter terror, and Gertrud waved them towards Homura mockingly. She was going to cut Homura clean in half.

With astonishing suddenness, a bolt of pure light erupted from nowhere and struck Gertrud in the chest. Gertrud screamed with agony and dropped Homura, turning to face the new enemy, preparing to lash out again with her thorny vines. Another nova of light put a stop to that, and then another. Homura was momentarily blinded and couldn't tell where the bolts were coming from.

"Final shot!" shouted a new voice.

There was a deafening explosion and a blinding flash of light, and Homura clung to the ground as if it was going to escape her. So - Mami had shown her face. Homura was chagrinned at being rescued by the blonde girl, but she had to admit that it beat dying. Yet something about the first bolts seemed strangely familiar… and then she heard a familiar voice.

"Homura! Are you okay?"

It was Madoka.

Homura looked up and was brought short by a sight that met her like a blow to the stomach. It was Madoka, wearing her Mahou Shoujo uniform. It was Madoka. Kyubey had already gotten to her.

"Hey, you. Are you okay?" Mami asked.

Then Mami caught sight of Homura's soul gem, and her hand instinctively went to the butt of her rifle. Homura could only fall to her knees and cry. She cried forever.


End file.
